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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22354585">They Come First</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zadski/pseuds/Zadski'>Zadski</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>IT (1990), IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King, Vampire Academy Series - Richelle Mead</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Vampire, Alternate Universe - Vampire Academy Fusion, Biting, Blood, Blood Drinking, Crossover, Dhampir, F/M, Kissing, M/M, Multi, Murder, Neck Kissing, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Vampires, moroi, strigoi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-01-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-01-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 08:35:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,868</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22354585</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zadski/pseuds/Zadski</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Mr. Kaspbrak,” he started, that smile still on his face, though it was clear he was trying to appear sympathetic. “You are here, at St. King’s Academy, because your mother has been lying to you. Lying to all of us.” He made a gesture as though to indicate others in the room, despite it only being the four of them. “She has led you to believe that you are human. We’ve brought you here to tell you that you are not, and never have been.” </p><p>He paused, letting the information sink in. Eddie could feel his brows furrowing in confusion, slowly shaking his head. “No,” he said, “I…” The idea seemed so silly to him in that moment. Not human? If he wasn’t a human, what else could he be? </p><p>A Vampire Academy/Stephen King's IT AU!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Richie Tozier/Stanley Uris</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. St. King's Academy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>The Vampire Academy AU I always wanted but never had. NOTE: This will be an age progression, so the characters will start off at around 13 and grow up past the end of their time in school. No mature content will occur until after the characters are over the age of eighteen. There will be some kissing and potentially neck biting (because vampires) and mentions of sexual themes, but there will be NO sexual interactions between the underage characters. They may be mentioned, because let's be honest, out of a seven person group at least one of them will lose their virginity before they turn eighteen, but it will not be played out or described in any way. I do plan on future smut chapters, so the rating will move from Teen to Mature/Explicit.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><em>“—you can’t take him! Keep your filthy hands off him—he’s</em> my son<em>! You have no right!”</em></p><p>The tires of the car crunched over the gravel driveway, tiny pieces of rock flying into the immaculately mowed lawn as the huge metal security gates swung open. A tingling sensation rushed over Eddie Kaspbrak’s skin as they passed the barrier and entered school grounds, causing him to shiver, one he hoped the large men on either side of him couldn’t feel.<em> I’m not afraid</em>, he thought, almost as if trying to convince himself, <em>not afraid.</em> The trees on either side of the long drive started to spread apart, a massive building coming into view, still a way off into the distance. It was the middle of the day, prime time for people to be out and about before the sun started to set, but there wasn’t a person in sight. No movement behind the large windows, no bodies milling about in the lawn. If anything, the curtains looked too thick—blocking out even the shadows of the people inside, keeping the light out and the darkness in. It appeared to be deserted, and not for the first time today, Eddie wondered if this was the day he was going to die.</p><p>As they pulled closer, Eddie could see the name of the building written across the front entrance: St. King’s Academy. The men had said nothing to him the entire way here, other than one word commands that were exclusively to get him moving or to keep him still. When the car came to a stop one of the men placed their arm around Eddie’s bicep, holding on to him as they exited the car. As if he would get very far if he tried to run. Both men were of average height but clearly built under the black and white suits they wore, and he could see that they had tattoos on the back of their necks. He couldn’t tell what they were, but they looked like the same design, further convincing him that this was clearly a cult and he was about to get sacrificed. It was the only logical explanation.<br/>
Eddie was silent as they led him into the front doors of the building, and after a few moments of waiting they were greeted by a tall man with his hair slightly ruffled, looking like he had just been asleep recently. Well, welcomed was perhaps too kind of a word to describe the greeting—the man seemed annoyed, hidden behind a fake smile with narrowed eyes.</p><p>“Mr. Kaspbrak. We’ve been expecting you. Come now.” The man spoke in an even tone, urging the small group towards what had to be his office. Eddie was pulled along by one of the men and sat down in a chair inside of the office before the men stepped back and out of his sight, though he could feel eyes on the back of his head that told him they were still in the room. On the large wooden desk sat a plaque that read<em> Norbert Keene – Headmaster.</em> Mr. Keene sat with his hands folded on top of his desk, a smile that could be described as sadistic coming over his features—but that couldn’t be right for a headmaster, could it?</p><p>“Mr. Kaspbrak,” he started, that smile still on his face, though it was clear he was trying to appear sympathetic. “You are here, at St. King’s Academy, because your mother has been lying to you. Lying to all of us.” He made a gesture as though to indicate others in the room, despite it only being the four of them. “She has led you to believe that you are human. We’ve brought you here to tell you that you are not, and never have been.”</p><p>He paused, letting the information sink in. Eddie could feel his brows furrowing in confusion, slowly shaking his head. “No,” he said, “I…” The idea seemed so silly to him in that moment. Not human? If he wasn’t a human, what else could he be? He looked normal. Behaved normal, ate normal things. “My mother told me I was sick. She told me that I was born sick, and I had to be careful, because I had <em>allergies…”</em></p><p>If anything, Mr. Keene seemed more excited by this admission. “You are not sick, Mr. Kasprak. You are what we call a dhampir.” He was smiling still, his fingers tapping on his desk. “A dhampir is not fully human. They are a combination, a hybrid if you will, of humans and vampires. The Moroi. Your father was a Moroi, Mr. Kaspbrak, and your mother is a human.” He paused, eyes running over Eddie’s face, which was morphing further into disbelief. “She kept you from us. Kept you <em>weak.</em> Haven’t you ever wondered where your <em>illnesses</em> came from? Have you ever felt sick a day in your life?”</p><p>Eddie slowly shook his head no, not wanting to admit to it, but knowing that it was true. Every time his mother told him that he was fragile and should stay inside, <em>oh, Eddie-bear, you don’t want to go out there! You could fall and get hurt! You’re so fragile, dear. Just one little scrape could send you to the hospital!</em> He’d never bled. Never coughed, sneezed, or felt anything other than a tightness in his chest when things got—too much.</p><p>“Dhampirs do not get sick, Eddie.” Mr. Keene was shaking his head, making a quiet<em> tsk, tsk</em> sound with his tongue. “If you fell, you wouldn’t bleed. Not from simple child’s play. You are tougher than that, stronger—she knew, and to keep you from figuring it out, she lied. Your mother wanted to keep you all to herself. Selfish of her, truly.”</p><p>“She wasn’t!” Eddie’s hands flew to the armrests of his chair, gripping them tightly. This all felt wrong, but something inside of him was screaming that Mr. Keene was right. He had always felt the need for more, his body craving something other than sitting around and doing his mother’s bidding, but he had always taken her word and accepted his ‘sickness’. Whatever Mr. Keen said, he knew that his mother was till just that, his mom. That had to mean something, didn’t it? “She loves me! I know—I know that she might have lied, maybe I am what you say I am, but she loves me!”</p><p>Mr. Keene held his hands up in a placating manor, looking unconcerned with Eddie’s outburst. “I’m sure she does, in her own way,” he says, “but that doesn’t change the fact that she hid you. Dhampir children are required to attend an academy such as St. King’s for training once they reach the elementary level of schooling. You are thirteen, Mr. Kaspkrak, and much overdue to begin your dhampir training.”</p><p>“My training? Training for what?”</p><p>“To become a guardian, just like Mr. Alto and Mr. Chase.” Keene gestured to each of the men standing behind Eddie, and he turned his body to look at the men who had brought him here. <em>Be like them? How could I ever be like they are?</em> Mr. Keene continued while Eddie stared, tapping the desk to get his attention and turn him back around. “Guardians keep us safe, Mr. Kaspbrak, and it is the destiny of every dhampir. There are so few of you now, such a shame, but we need each and every one to do their duty to protect the Moroi.”</p><p>“Protect—protect from what?” There were so many questions running through Eddie’s mind, namely, what could vampires possibly need protecting from, and why was he suddenly one of the people being shoved into the line of fire? Before he got a chance to say more, Mr. Keene stood up and looked at the two guardians next to the door, hands folded behind his back.</p><p>“That’s enough excitement for one day. Gentlemen, if you would please escort Mr. Kaspbrak to his room. We follow a nocturnal schedule on campus, so please do try to get some sleep.”</p><p>“Wait—” Eddie stood up from his seat, but before he could even decide what he was going to do, the same hand was on his arm and was pulling him away. “Wait! Wait, what do I do, where do I--?”</p><p>Mr. Keene was smiling at him with that same smile, though there was a slight twitch to his eye, as though he were growing increasingly impatient. “Classes start at 9PM when the sun is down. Welcome to St. King’s, Mr. Kaspbrak.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Moroi</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Every question Eddie asked was completely ignored, arm feeling tight in the grip of the man in black as he’s dragged down the halls of St. King’s. He was starting to wonder if part of being a guardian involved getting your brain fried, because neither of the men with him had said more than one word at a time in hours. Before long the man that wasn’t holding onto his arm (Mr. Alto?) was unlocking a door and he was being led inside. The room itself was pretty bare, complete with a dorm style twin bed, desk, dresser, and what looked like a small closet. There were sheets on the bed in the same colors as the school logo, red and white, and the desk had a small adjustable lamp. He had been right before; the curtains were blackout, and no daylight came through into the room, but the soft white overhead light gave the illusion of daytime indoors.</p><p>Once inside, Mr. Chase swiftly exited the room, while Mr. Alto stayed inside. He released Eddie’s arm from his grip and seemed to look him over. He wasn’t a particularly large man when it came to height, but Eddie could easily see the muscles that ran along his arms and chest under the plain white dress shirt and jacket he wore. His skin was tan, like he spent a lot of time outside, and his hair was cut close to his head. Eddie had noticed that Mr.Chase wore it in a similar style, and like Alto, it was very clear even through his clothing that he was muscular. They both gave off a strong era of alertness and strength that Eddie knew he would have been able to notice even without being dragged around all day.</p><p>“You’re going to be okay,” his voice was deep but quiet, oddly comforting in a way that it certainly hadn’t been before. “It’s better for you here. Safer. Don’t let yourself be afraid.”</p><p>Before Eddie got a chance to respond, the guardian was slipping almost silently out of the room, leaving him alone with his thoughts. Everything had happened so fast—being taken from his house, flown out to the middle of <em>nowhere</em>, and then finally, <em>impossibly, </em>being told that he’s half-vampire. It sounded like something out of a Grimm Fairytale or a horror novel, unbelievable and purely fiction. But it was real. He was here, in a school that—that ran on night hours, and where he would be expected to train and fight. <em>Fight what? </em>Eddie had never fought anything in his entire life, other than with his mother over the TV remote, and even then she always won! He couldn’t remember a time where he had been allowed to freely run, let alone punch or kick or…anything.</p><p>Or anything. He’d never <em>done</em> anything, including go to school. His mother had homeschooled him, telling him that he was too sick to be around other children, and they’d never be able to teach him as well as she could. Mr. Keene had been right; never in his life had he ever actually felt sick. He always assumed that maybe how he lived w<em>as</em> being sick, and he couldn’t tell the difference because he was just…different. But having a weird disease and being half <em>vampire</em> were drastically different things, and Eddie knew there had to be more to the story than this. How could his mother do that to him? Shut him away from the world and lie to him about what he really was?</p><p>Eddie was jolted abruptly out his thoughts, nearly jumping of his skin at the sudden banging at his window, and before he had a chance to do so much as check to see what it was, a boy was stumbling and falling into his bedroom with a loud cry of <em>FUCK!</em> Jolting back against the opposite wall, Eddie looked over the form that was now splayed out across his floor—a mop of dark hair, pale skin, long limbs. Based on the voice and general appearance, it was a boy. His head was down against the floor, face turned away from him, but he was moving slowly, pushing himself into a seated position and rubbing his forehead under his bangs. The curtains fluttered around Eddie’s now open window as a breeze came through, reminding him that it was still daytime outside. He was till frozen in place when the boy turned to look at him, blinking in his direction and looking dazed.</p><p>“Wow. Shit, they actually put someone in this room. I’m sorry, dude,” he finally said as he used Eddie’s desk to pull himself up off the ground. “It’s been empty for months. I don’t really sleep much, so usually I would come in here and, y’know. Hang out or whatever.” The boy was brushing off what looked like dirt, maybe a few specks of leaf or gravel, and it looked like he was wearing pajamas.</p><p>Finally finding his voice, Eddie choked out, “Who are you?”</p><p>The boy laughed, Eddie’s eyes automatically flicking to his longer than usual and definitely sharp looking canine teeth, holding out his hand. “Richie. Kinda rude to bust into your room and not introduce myself, huh? Again, sorry man. I’ve never seen you before, did you transfer from St. Carrie’s or something?”</p><p>Eddie stared at the offered hand, thinking about the dirt and other gross shit that he could have possibly picked up by <em>climbing in through his window,</em> before sighing and shaking it briefly, trying not to stare at his mouth. “No. I didn’t transfer. I just got here.”</p><p>“What, like. Today?” Richie seemed to make himself at home pretty quickly, sitting on the corner of Eddie’s desk. “In the middle of the not-night? That’s fuckin’ wild. You must be a dhampir, then. Look a little pale, though.” He squinted at him, looking Eddie over. “And scrawny.”</p><p>“Hey!” Eddie crossed his arms over his chest, glaring daggers at the other boy. Despite his protests, he knew he was right. That’s what happened when you weren’t really allowed to leave the house, run, or do anything other than homework and menial tasks. “You literally just broke into my room and now you’re insulting me? Two big—bodyguard guys just brought me in here, I can go call them back…” Eddie took a few steps backwards towards the door, one thumb jerking behind his head.</p><p>“No!” Richie jumped up, holding his hands out in front of his body. “No, dude, we’re cool. I’m sorry. My bad, again. We just don’t get a lot of new people around here.” He settled down when Eddie put his hands down and moved away from the door, standing near his bed instead. “Well, other than like, little kids. You’re little, but not that little.”</p><p>Eddie hit Richie with a hard stare, shaking his head. “Alright. That’s it. Get out of my room. Back out the window, go.” He moved a little closer, waving his hands in a ‘shoo’ motion, glaring when Richie only laughed at him.</p><p>“Hey! C’mon. Let me hang out here. I told you I couldn’t sleep, and it doesn’t look like you’re sleeping either. Don’t you want a friend, what’s-your-name?” From out of the pocket of his pjs Richie pulled a pack of cigarettes, making Eddie’s eyes go wide.</p><p>“Eddie—my name is Eddie, where did you get those? Put them away! You’re going to get both of us in trouble, asshole!” Rushing forward to make a grab for them, he barely got close enough to try before one of Richie’s arms was on his chest, holding him back and the pack away.</p><p>“Ah, ah, ah! No we won’t. I told you, I come here all the time, Eds. Haven’t been caught yet, not gonna get caught now. Besides, everyone else is asleep.” He gave Eddie’s chest a small shove before sitting on the windowsill, pushing part of the curtains aside as he lit the cigarette with a lighter he magically procured and put it to his lips. He seemed to be very carefully leaning towards the light, pulling back away from it when he didn’t have to exhale smoke.</p><p>“<em>Don’t </em>call me that. My name is Eddie, not Eds.” The smaller boy huffed, shaking his head and throwing his hands up in the air. “You can’t smoke in here! I have asthma!”</p><p>Now it was Richie giving him a strange look, snorting in disbelief before blowing smoke out of the window. “I’ve never heard of a dhampir with asthma before. Nice try, though. You guys are resilient as fuck. Can’t trick me.” He put his cig between his lips, speaking crudely around it in an attempt of a deep voice, his hands in fists curled upwards to show off his non-existent muscles. “Oh, look at me! I’m a big beefy dhampir and I’m gonna punch a Strigoi in the <em>face</em> after running a mile, because dhampir don’t have <em>asthma.” </em></p><p>“Wait.” Eddie’s face dropped and he ignored the cigarette, because in this moment it wasn’t very important. “A <em>what?</em> Strigoi? What’s that?”</p><p>The cigarette almost fell from Richie’s mouth as his mouth opened in surprise, but he was quick to snag it between two fingers before it could get too far. “Stri—how do you not know what a S<em>trigoi</em> is? Did they find you in a fuckin’ box on the side of the road—” He was cut off when Eddie rushed forwards and grabbed his wrists, giving him a light shake. Despite the scrawny look that the boy had, Eddie had some strength in him, and Richie was shut up instantly.</p><p>“Just—just shut <em>up </em>for two seconds.” Eddie’s voice was hard, eyes searching Richie’s face. “I need you to tell me everything. What a Strigoi is, what this place is. You have to tell me. <em>Please.</em>”</p><p>Richie blinked at him, nodding until Eddie slowly let his wrists go with a muttered ‘sorry’. He brought the cigarette back to his lips and pulled, leaning back to blow the smoke out the window one last time before snuffing it out, resting his hands on his thighs. “Alright. I still don’t know why you don’t just <em>know </em>this shit—sorry.” He backed off at Eddie’s glare. “But I’ll tell you. So…how do I explain this.” He pushed himself up to stand, bouncing slightly on his toes as he held one hand up and counted off on his fingers.</p><p>“Dhampir, Moroi, Strigoi. Three types of vampires.” He held his hand up, wiggling said fingers. “You’ve got dhampir, which is you. Half-vampire, half-human. Born like that. Moroi, like me,” he gestured down the length of his body, smiling and tipping his head to the side just a tad. It was Eddie’s first good look inside of his mouth, and it was very obvious that his teeth were especially sharp. He tried to ignore it as Richie continued, not wanting to think about what those teeth were for. “Vampires! Normal ones. Also born like this. When a Moroi and a Moroi have a baby, you get another Moroi. When a Moroi and a dhampir have a baby, you can only get another dhampir. Don’t ask me why, I have no idea. Probably not enough vampire juice or some shit.”</p><p>Eddie rolled his eyes, hopping up to sit on the edge of his bed, gesturing for Richie to hurry up. Richie only responded with a quick ‘I’m getting there!’ before continuing.</p><p>“You’d think, okay, so two dhampir make another dhampir! Or a human. Wrong!” He tossed his hands up in front of him in the shape of an X, only resulting in another softer glare from Eddie. “Two dhampir can’t make babies. Doesn’t work. The only way for more of you guys to be born is for a dhampir to hook up with a Moroi. Or a human, I guess. But nobody does that.”</p><p>“But what does this have to do with Strigoi? And why they make—why dhampir have to fight them?” Eddie remembered what Mr. Keene had said to him; his father was a Moroi and his mother was a human. According to Richie, that was abnormal, somehow. He couldn’t imagine his mother ever dating a vampire or acknowledging their existence at all. He’d seen the ways that she reacted to people who were ‘different’, and it never seemed like she was on their side, to put it lightly. Had that all been an act to keep him from figuring it out? Though, he never would have figured something like <em>this </em>out in a million years.</p><p>“Jumping ahead of yourself, Eddie Spaghetti.” Before Eddie could protest to the new name, which was definitely worse than <em>Eds, </em>Richie was steamrolling over him to finish his thought. “Strigoi aren’t born. They’re turned.” He pauses, his voice suddenly quieter than it’s been all night, avoiding Eddie’s gaze. “They’re monsters. Being turned is like taking away all of your emotions. They don’t give a shit about you, or anybody else. All they care about is eating and killing. It’s like…like they become an animal. A killing machine. They’re immortal, w<em>ay</em> faster a<em>nd</em> stronger than any dhampir, and their favorite snack?” He lifts a hand, turning his head back up to look at Eddie with an expression that gave away a little bit of fear, pointing at his own chest. “Moroi.”</p><p>Eddie is watching him, looking over his features to try and weed out any lies or mistruths. He finds none, and Richie seems to be waiting on him to react. “I…you said they could be turned. Who would choose to be something like that?”</p><p>“People who want power, I guess,” Richie shrugs, not entirely sure himself. “Or to live forever. Moroi live a long time, so do dhampir, but we aren’t immortal. We aren’t as strong as dhampir, either. We’ve got some stuff that makes us different, but when it comes to fighting? You guys are it. We’re not allowed to throw down with the red eyed killer vamps, and I’ve heard that it usually takes multiple guardians just to take down <em>one </em>Strigoi. Without dhampirs…” Eddie can see Richie shrugging his shoulders again as he moves to pull Eddie’s chair away from his desk, flopping down onto it. “We’d be toast.”</p><p>The term ‘guardian’ makes sense—they are guards, against an evil that the Moroi aren’t strong enough to defend against. It still leaves Eddie wondering why the dhampir are involved at all. Other than the basic want to help their vampire brethren, why are dhampir trained to fight for the Moroi in place of the Moroi learning to fight for themselves? Looking over Richie’s body once more and then thinking back to the two men he’d seen earlier today, the differences were staggering. Where they were strong, he was thin. Even their skin had been a darker color compared to Richie’s impossibly pale complexion, even compared to Eddie himself. Richie was still young, though. Eddie thought back to Mr. Keene, who he realized now had to be a Moroi as well, remembering the thin tall stature and smile that had hidden his teeth. Richie hadn’t smiled like that.</p><p>They looked about the same age, but Eddie couldn’t help but wonder if he was expected to one day look like those guardians did. Eddie couldn’t imagine himself being as bulky as those guys were. As Richie’s head tilted up towards him again, Eddie was suddenly taken by how beautiful he was. His eyes were bright and his skin so pale that his dark hair looked even darker, unblemished and smooth. It looked like the guy could use a couple extra burgers at dinner and a firm shake to get the stink of smoke off his clothes, but there was no denying that he was…pretty.</p><p>“Why,” he started, trying to keep his voice level and not come off sounding like an asshole, “do dhampir fight for the Moroi? Why don’t they fight for themselves?”</p><p>“Remember that whole babymaking talk? Yeah, dhampir need Moroi to make more dhampir. Without us, you guys will eventually die out too. Strigoi will eat a dhampir, but what they want is Moroi blood, because of the magic.”</p><p>Eddie snorted, picking up his pillow and holding it on his lap, absently playing with the edges of the pillowcase. “You guys have magic too? What do you do, card tricks?”</p><p>“Haha, very funny. No, we have actual magic. Moroi are born with one element they can learn to use. Fire, air, earth, water…” Richie’s elbow was resting on the desk and his face was propped up on his hand, looking a tad bit tired, finally. “It’s mostly a party trick. Not used in any kind of…practical applications. Boring. Compulsion, too. Can make people do stuff. With your mind.” He waved a hand around his head, dropping it back down onto his lap quickly after. “You’re not allowed to do that, though. It’s a <em>very</em> big no-no to mess with someone else’s mind. Most Moroi aren’t good enough at it to really do it anyway, but people think it’s overstepping some boundaries, for sure. Strigoi are even better at it than Moroi are. Not having any morals makes it really easy to mind control people.”</p><p>“<em>Mind</em> <em>control? </em>Bullshit.” Eddie crossed his arms over his chest, shaking his head in disbelief. “You expect me to believe that a skinny thing like you can control my mind? You don’t look like you could pick up my chair, let alone make me do anything with your brain.”</p><p>“Hey! I resent that. I climbed into your window, didn’t I? How do you think I got in here, with wings?” Richie snorted, leaning forwards and resting his elbows on his knees. “And it isn’t <em>mind control</em>, not really. That’s why it’s called compulsion. It’s more like…very good convincing, in your brain.” One long finger tapped his temple, then pointed towards Eddie. “I could tell you that it would be a great idea to jump out of that window, and you’d agree with me. And do it happily.”</p><p>Any of Eddie’s lighthearted, playful energy vanished in an instant, instead replaced with fear. <em>Could he really do that? Maybe he can’t, but—is it really possible, that a Strigoi could?  </em>Through his years of being manipulated and forced into compliance by his mother, Eddie still had free will. It was easier for him to listen, to obey, but she couldn’t <em>mentally </em>force him. The thought of being unable to say no—unable to fight, unable to disobey—terrified him. Richie seemed to pick up on this, slowly standing up and moving carefully closer, fingertips barely touching Eddie’s arm before he was jerking away instinctively.</p><p>“Sorry—sorry. Bad joke. I mean, it isn’t a joke, but…still. You’re new to this shit.” Shoving his hands into his pockets, Richie turned to lean with his back against the bed, glancing over at the window. “I should probably be getting back to my room.”</p><p>Eddie nodded, slowly but surely relaxing his tense shoulders until he could lay his forearms across the pillow once more, clearing his throat and watching the side of Richie’s face. “Yeah. Uh, thanks. For telling me everything. You’re the first person who I think hasn’t lied to me. Kinda wish you <em>were </em>lying.” He huffed out a humorless laugh. “I guess Mr. Keene wasn’t lying, either, but he definitely wasn’t telling me the whole truth.”</p><p>“That dude is a total <em>dick</em>,” Richie responds automatically, a little more animated as he turns back to Eddie with a tiny smile. “He enjoys it, too. I think he likes making kids sad. One time, a guardian fell and broke his leg, and the bone was sticking out and shit, but Keene wouldn’t let anyone move him because he wanted to s<em>ee it </em>first. So fuckin’ weird.”</p><p>Eddie pulled a disgusted face, nose scrunching up. “Ew. That’s disgusting.” The two shared a laugh before falling back into a more comfortable silence, Richie pushing off the bed and back over to the window.</p><p>“Well, I’ll see you around, new kid. Don’t let the vampires bite.” With a wink Richie was pulling open the curtains and was out the window, and by the time Eddie moved to look out and see where he was going, he was gone.</p><p><em>Did I just make my first friend? </em>Eddie let the twilight breeze ruffle his hair as he leaned out the open window, looking out into the trees that surrounded the school, taking a deep breath of fresh air. <em>I hope so. </em></p>
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